(Yicai Global) Aug. 16 -- Great Wall Motor plans to set up an East China headquarters in Shanghai and turn it into the carmaker's second-largest research and development center to better serve the Yangtze River Delta market.

The Beijing-based firm has penned a deal with the government of Shanghai's Jiading district, Sohu reported today, unable to disclose the value of the agreement. Only its Baoding headquarters in the capital will offer greater research facilities than the new premises, which will also be Great Wall's nation headquarters for hydrogen energy and intelligent networked vehicles.

The company will set up a unit in Anting, Jiading -- home to Shanghai International Automobile City and the metropolis's Formula One track -- to manage the HQ. It already has tech centers for hydrogen energy and Haval, its primary sports-utility vehicle brand, in the region.

Its Haval H6 was the most popular SUV in China last year, racking up 452,552 sales. The 1984 founded company also makes pickups and cars.

Editor: James Boynton